Posted By Dan Greenfield on May 11, 2014 | 4 comments

A GOTHAM TRIBUNE EXTRA: A Bat-ode to Figures Toy Company‘s BATMAN ’66 Mego-style action-figure line.

If you’re reading this, chances are all you wanted as a Mego-loving kid was for your Batman and Robin characters to look like they jumped out of your TV screen.

The folks at Mego knew it. They couldn’t use likenesses but that Batmobile had George Barris written all over it and the Batcave certainly borrowed from the show.

And even this Mego ad tried to invoke the show’s appeal:

Over time, our Megos’ imperfections made them special and as a result, we grew sentimental about them. So Figures Toy Company started giving us those Megos late last year.

This month, they sealed the deal with the first wave of the Batman ’66 Mego-style line.

I wrote the other day that Hot Toys has given the Batman ’66 world the ultimate action figures. Those figures are like a prime New York (Gotham?) Strip.

And some would say, “Why buy hamburger when you can have steak?” Well, for one thing, a great steak is damn expensive. For another, I freaking LOVE hamburgers.

And these, citizens, are the absolute best Batburgers you can buy:

Batman

All photos by Sam Greenfield

Batman has a great head sculpt, immediately capturing Adam West’s look, from the requisite arched white eyebrows to the ears that look as if they’ve been attached to the sides. The cape is a heavy satin and is easily removable at the neck. Bodywise, he’s the standard Mego style, which means he’s trim and muscular, moreso than the actor. But this is a concession I’m willing to make to the Mego spirits. Other noteworthy elements are the soft rubber boots and gloves — no oven mitts here. The dead-on utility belt sits a little too high above the navy trunks but so what? I can almost hear Chief O’Hara saying, “Take your complaints elsewhere, buddy.”

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Robin

Robin is about as good as it gets. His red tunic fits his form well, the belt is centered (unlike the Mego Robin’s plastic belt, which has always been off-kilter because of the fastener on the back). He has tights that end at the ankle but the wonderfully accurate pixie boots cover the bottoms well. The cape is worn draped backward but I wish the underside were satin like the back. “You can’t have everything, Boy Wonder. Greed is an awful trait.” “Gosh, Batman, when you put it like that …”

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Joker

In its own way, the Joker may be the best of the bunch, upstaging Batman and Robin similarly to how the original Mego Joker was probably superior to Mego Batman. That is a great likeness of Cesar Romero. You’ve got the mustache peeking out from under the makeup and the perfect expression of manic glee. I’m generally a fan of screened-on suits when it comes to villains like Mego Joker and Penguin; I find that regular suits in this scale usually look bulky and ill-fitting. But the tailors at FTC pulled it off with a suit whose cut is tight and pretty natural-looking. A great figure all the way around.

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Riddler

Even though his expression doesn’t have the same malevolence the actor brought to the role, this Riddler gives good Gorshin. The outfit is fantastic, complete with curlicue question mark on the back. (I do wish FTC had completed the look with green shoes, instead of black ones — but hey, that’s just a reminder of what makes the Mego experience so special: There will always be something a little off-kilter — like the Dutch angle of a villain’s lair.

Best part? FTC is only getting started. Up later this year: Bruce “Adam West” Wayne, Dick “Burt Ward” Grayson, the Penguin and the first-ever Egghead action figure larger than a HeroClix!

And now … THE TEAM-UPS YOU NEVER THOUGHT YOU’D SEE!!!

It’s like the toy world’s version of Brave and the Bold #200!